Megan Rapinoe joined other voices across the sports world in speaking out over LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey’s silence on Brittney Griner’s detainment in Russia.

The WNBA star has been wrongfully detained in Russia on drug charges since February, and in August she was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony.

Mulkey coached Griner at Baylor from 2009-13, but during a press conference Monday, she declined to comment on the plight of her former player.

In response, former players of Mulkey’s have called out the coach for her silence, as have other WNBA and college basketball stars.

Baylor coach Nicki Collen, who took over for Mulkey in 2021, did not speak directly about Mulkey’s comments but did speak at length about Griner, who she called “Baylor family.”

Other sports stars also have spoken out, including Rapinoe. The USWNT forward chimed in via a comment on an Instagram post about Mulkey’s silence.

“This is honestly just cruel and evil and even more honestly,” she wrote. “IT’S SHOWING SIS. The hate is seeping out.”

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Gotham FC set the scene for NWSL club's 2025 season on Tuesday, dropping their official 24-athlete roster and new player-led leadership group while handing longtime USWNT defender Tierna Davidson the captain’s armband ahead of Saturday’s regular-season kick-off.

At 26 years old, the 2019 World Cup champion and 2024 Olympic gold medalist succeeds retired goalkeeper Michelle Betos as the NJ/NY squad's captain, heading up Gotham’s leadership alongside fellow defenders Jess Carter and Mandy Freeman, as well as midfielders Rose Lavelle and Nealy Martin.

Gotham also removed star forward Midge Purce from her season-ending injury designation on Tuesday, opening the door for the 29-year-old USWNT standout to return to the NWSL pitch for the first time since tearing her ACL in last season's opener.

The 2023 NWSL Championship MVP tallied 16 goals across her 46 career appearances for Gotham before sitting out the entirety of the 2024 season.

Gotham aims for successful 2025 behind refreshed roster

Following last year’s third-place finish, the 2023 NWSL champs saw a handful of big-name departures, prompting the club to adopt a more measured approach to this season’s roster rebuild.

"Change is normal in this environment, right?" Martin told JWS in January. "People have got to do what’s best for their career, but it hurts losing your friends on your team just personally, selfishly."

"Professionally, you have to take it in stride and see how all the new pieces can fit together," she continued. "How you can highlight new people’s best talent in the system that you’re playing."

Once considered a superteam, Gotham definitely looks a little different this time around, but early season moves display the club's interest in transforming steady consistency into a winning squad — with or without massively deep star power.

Gotham FC's official 2025 team roster

• Goalkeepers: Ann-Katrin Berger, Ryan Campbell, Shelby Hogan
• Defenders: Bruninha, Jess Carter, Tierna Davidson, Mandy Freeman, Lilly Reale, Emily Sonnett
• Midfielders: Sofia Cook, Jaelin Howell, Rose Lavelle, Nealy Martin, Stella Nyamekye, Taryn Torres
• Forwards: Esther Gonzalez, Khyah Harper, Cece Kizer, Gabi Portilho, Midge Purce, Sarah Schupansky, Jéssica Silva, Ella Stevens, McKenna Whitham

While NCAA basketball's Power Four conference tournaments wrapped up on Sunday, teams from mid-major Division I leagues are still battling for invites to the Big Dance, where they'll aim to upset top March Madness contenders.

Already harnessing upset momentum is former Pac-12 squad Oregon State, who won the West Coast Conference (WCC) tournament as the No. 4 seed on Tuesday.

After conference realignment saw most of the starters from last season's Elite Eight team transfer to Power Four programs, Oregon State finished the 2024/25 regular-season at 16-15 (12-8 in WCC play).

This week, however, the Beavers found another gear, tearing through their tournament and upsetting the two WCC regular-season co-champions along the way.

Oregon State paves a path to NCAA tournament underdog

First, Oregon State narrowly defeated top-seeded Gonzaga 63-61 in Monday's semifinals, before beating back-to-back defending champion No. 2-seed Portland 59-46 in Tuesday's tournament finale — only the fourth loss suffered by the Pilots all season.

Oregon State's unlikely March Madness bid is the program's 13th overall, and the ninth in the NCAA tournament's last 11 editions.

"I'm just so happy and so proud of this team," said Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck. "For this group to cover the ground that they did this year, from day one until now, is absolutely remarkable. It's one of the most special things I've been a part of."

The Beavers’ surge, however, holds consequences for both Portland and Gonzaga, whose slim chances of making Sunday's bracket now rest with the NCAA selection committee.

While Portland is a more recent contender on the national stage, Gonzaga hasn't missed an NCAA tournament since 2016, with the Bulldogs appearing in all but two brackets since their 2007 March Madness debut.

NCAA underdogs looks to spur chaos in March Madness

Should they make the cut, at-large underdogs Portland and Gonzaga would join Oregon State and other smaller conference champions in trying to bust brackets by upsetting top contenders in the first few rounds of the NCAA's competition.

Other mid-major standouts are already considered likely members of the 68-team national pool, with current projections listing Fairfield University (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) and new No. 24-ranked South Dakota State (Summit League) claiming seeds as high as No. 9.

Projections also show that the Ivy League is on the precipice of sending a full trio of upset-hungry teams to the NCAA tournament.

While regular-season champion Columbia is expected to claim a national No. 11 seed after Saturday's conference tournament final, strong seasons from both Princeton and Harvard have the pair currently snagging one of the final four at-large bracket spots.

Atlantic 10 tournament victors George Mason could also pose a threat to Power Four contenders, with the Patriots clinching their first-ever NCAA tournament berth on Sunday despite ceding the regular-season conference title to Richmond.

Though it’s not always wise to bet against heavyweights in the NCAA tournament's opening rounds, emerging college basketball underdogs are embracing the spotlight — and welcoming the opportunity to shake things up after Selection Sunday.
 
 

Welcome to another episode of Sports Are Fun! presented by TurboTax.

Every week on Sports Are Fun!, soccer legend Kelley O'Hara, sports journalist and basketball expert Greydy Diaz, and JWS intern BJ serve up their hottest takes all things women's sports. And in today's episode, the crew is joined in the studio by two-time Olympic diver — and Stanford Cardinal alum — Kassidy Cook.

Of course, the co-hosts waste no time in getting down to the biggest conversations in women's sports. And this time of year, that can only mean one thing: March Madness.

"Some would say this is the most exciting Sunday in women's sports," says O'Hara, kicking off a deep dive in the college basketball's fast-approaching Selection Sunday. "Based on this weekend and season overall, who are your number one seeds? Up for discussion we've got Texas, USC, UConn, UCLA, South Carolina, Notre Dame. What are we saying?"

"I'm a little worried about Notre Dame. Going into the season, I was expecting them to have an elite season," Diaz admits. "But losing to Duke? Bro. They do have a great coach, but Notre Dame on paper should have won that game."

"I think UT is still going to get a number one seed," says Cook. "Throughout the year they've had the number one seed. And even though they lost, I'm going to say South Carolina because they just won. And I'm going to say USC because they're a powerhouse. Then UCLA because their only two losses were to USC."

"I want to say UConn as well, because out of the top teams, they are the underdog of that list. I would love to see them walk away with it," Cook adds. "And like you guys said last week, Paige Bueckers doesn't have a championship yet, right?

The co-hosts additionally tackle the NWSL Challenge Cup, the likelihood of a WNBA lockout, Trinity Rodman and Ben Shelton soft launch, and so much more!

'Sports Are Fun!' announces Final Four live show in Tampa

In between hot takes, the Sports Are Fun! team also shared some big news.

JWS is heading to Tampa! Get ready for a live recording of Sports Are Fun! with Kelley O'Hara on Thursday, April 3rd ahead of the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

This exclusive event only adds to the madness of March Madness. There, O'Hara, Greydy Diaz, Merritt Mathias, and JWS intern BJ bring interactive moments, surprise guests, and behind-the-scenes access to the biggest weekend in college basketball.

“There’s never been a better time to be a women’s sports fan, and I couldn’t be more excited to bring Sports Are Fun! to Tampa during the Final Four,” says O’Hara. “The energy around this weekend is going to be electric, and we’re giving fans a front-row seat to be part of it.”

Tickets are $20 and include a complimentary drink and JWS party favor. Get yours now.

About 'Sports Are Fun!' with Kelley O'Hara

'Sports Are Fun!' is a show that’ll remind you why you fell in love with women's sports in the first place.

Join World Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, and aspiring barista Kelley O'Hara as she sits down with sports journalist Greydy Diaz and a revolving cast of co-hosts and friends. Together, they're talking the biggest, funnest, and most need-to-know stories in the world of women’s sports.

From on-court drama to off-field shenanigans, to candid (and silly) chats with the most important personalities in the space, this show screams "Sports Are Fun!"

Subscribe to Just Women's Sports on YouTube to never miss an episode.

WSL side Manchester City parted ways with manager Gareth Taylor on Monday, just five days before the club faces table-leaders Chelsea in Saturday’s League Cup final — and nine days before they meet Chelsea once again in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.

In his nearly five years at the helm, Taylor led Man City to an overall 117-15-29 record, picking up the 2020 FA Cup and 2022 League Cup along the way.

Taylor departs just one year into a three-year contract renewal with the club.

"Manchester City prides itself on competing at the top of the WSL and on its outstanding record of qualifying for European competition," said Man City managing director Charlotte O'Neill in a club statement. "Unfortunately, results this season have so far not reached this high standard."

Former City coach Nick Cushing — who led the team from 2013 to 2020 — will take over interim manager duties for the remainder of the season.

Taylor’s dismissal follows a number of big-name WSL coaching changes, with Arsenal’s Jonas Eidevall and Liverpool’s Matt Beard both exiting the league this season.

Eidevall has since taken over as head coach for the NWSL’s San Diego Wave.

Despite rumblings that Taylor could follow suit and fill the vacancy with the Wave’s SoCal rival Angel City, those rumors appear to be overblown.

Manchester City still in the hunt for non-WSL titles

Sitting 12 points behind Chelsea with just six matchdays left in their 2024/25 season, fourth-place Man City's WSL title hopes have dimmed. However, they remain very much in the running for the League Cup, FA Cup, and Champions League honors.

That said, the Citizens are staring down an unusually demanding gauntlet against one of the world’s top clubs this month.

After facing Chelsea in Saturday's League Cup final and next week's Champions League quarterfinals, City will again take on the Blues in a March 23rd regular-season matchup before wrapping up the pair's two-leg Champions League quarters on March 27th.

Ultimately, the pressure for top WSL teams to properly challenge Chelsea’s years-long dominance is mounting — and some coaches appear to be bearing the brunt of those ambitions.